Nellie P. Downey
Schooner · United States · Lost 1884 · Lake Ontario & the St. Lawrence
A grain schooner lost in a foggy nighttime collision with a coal barge off Oswego, her bow now beautifully preserved in deep water.
Become Captain of RecordSee Shipwreck on Map
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built in 1873 at Napanee, Ontario, Nellie P. Downey carried grain between Bay of Quinte ports and Oswego, New York, for the Downey family's shipping firm. On the night of June 12, 1884, approaching Oswego in thick fog with 6,700 bushels of rye, she collided with the barge Oswego, part of a tow being managed by the tug Glide. No lives were lost. The wreck's bow, bowsprit, and jibboom remain pristinely preserved in the deep, cold water of Lake Ontario.
Vessel
- 1873
- Robert Robinson
- Napanee, Ontario
- Wood
- 84 ft
- 20 ft
- 120
- Sail
- Robert Downey & Brothers, Napanee, Ontario
Loss
- June 12, 1884
- Collision
- Lake Ontario, approaching Oswego, New York
- Lake Ontario
- Napanee, Ontario → Oswego, New York
- 6,700 bushels of rye
- Not established
- 0
- Robert Bartley
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Bow, bowsprit, and jibboom pristinely preserved in deep water
- Not established
- Not established
- Within Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary
Position
- 43.45° N 76.51° W
- General area only
- Oswego, New York
General area only: coordinate of Oswego, New York from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, marking the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, not a surveyed wreck position.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
Exact coordinates and depth had not yet been announced by NOAA at time of writing.
NOAA Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary
Build details, loss narrative, and cause.
USGS Geographic Names Information System — Oswego, NY
coordinate of the named place of loss
